3rd Rail Allegheny now w/PS2

Excellent - ours seems so fragile I haven't been running it - maybe we should do the same thing.... We run our Lionel JLC instead.... Though it needed a drive haft replacement from pulling 50 or so Atlas O diecast hoppers..... Gutting another engine is cheaper than the upgrade kit?... 

As a suggestion, you might want to disconnect the front engine drive from the rear engine drive and stagger the side rods 90 degrees between the two engines. That will also visually match the staggered exhaust sounds.

 Thanks! I'll do that when I grease the joints. The side rods would look more interesting that way. I think the exhaust sounds cycle around with different timing and even at times catches up? Well that's how the G gauge Challenger sounds. I don't have enough 3 rail track yet to see. Wish this was two rail.

PS. I still have not changed out the trucks on the tender.

Good job Joe!  You wouldn't by chance have an old video of the engine before mods would you?  It would be nice to compare the before and after.

 I was mad that I forgot to make a "before" video. The engine sat on display for a few years now. It was my shelf queen. Now there is more than the reason, as I run two rail O gauge and did not have the cash for total conversion including two railing this.

1)how difficult was it? I've done 1 ps1.0 to ps2.0 conversion, but that was on a mth ps1.0 premiere J class- so the smoke unit stayed. I have a 3rd rail big boy with TMCC- runs really smoooth but too fast at the low end which drives me nutts. I like slow and smooth.
2)any ps3.0 kits coming out???

The word is PS 3.0 kits will be out (I believe) 4th quarter 2013.

Nice work Joe.

 Thanks guys. I thought about waiting for PS3 kits just for this engine. I'm really happy with all of my PS2 and figured why wait?

 It's no different than any of the others. Well, I could not get a smoke unit funnel so I made up a smoke unit mount to center it, and was a bear to get in place. I figured out a way to get the front face off the boiler near the end! This engine had those older Seuth smoke tubes without a fan.

 The room in the tender makes it much easier after restling with diesels. The details are so delicate, that's a trade off.

 I forgot to say the biggest improvement. No more having to hold my hand over the tender to get the engine to run smoothly on the mains.